Category Archives: Uncategorized

06-15-2018 Vi Waln As Lakota people, we’ve always shown reverence to our elders. Any person who is older than you are is considered your elder. Lakota people at least 55 years old are likely tribal citizens carrying an abundance of our ancestral cultural knowledge. The majority of fluent Lakota speakers are people in this ageContinue reading “World Elder Abuse Awareness Day”

May 9, 2018 Vi Waln Lots of small Lakota children are being traumatized as you read this. Parents, guardians, grandparents or other caregivers are inflicting trauma on our children every minute of every day. Trauma isn’t just physical abuse. Mental, emotional and spiritual trauma is also child abuse. There are lots of small children actingContinue reading “National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day”

  February 27, 2018   Vi Waln Students currently attending He Dog school in rural Parmelee, SD have been studying for over a year in an unsafe building. Parents were made aware of this issue only by reading an article recently published in the Argus Leader. Since the release of that skewed news report, parentsContinue reading “Todd County School District Needs New Leadership”

February 4, 2018 Vi Waln     The conservative Argus Leader newspaper sent a journalist to He Dog school in November to do a story on an initiative established through a grant, to increase Lakota language and culture in the classroom. The article was released last month and upset many people. I viewed the articleContinue reading “We Must Write Our Own Stories”

January 28, 2018 Vi Waln Our local schools are in the midst of winter sports season. Basketball teams are busy with their daily practice routines. When teams aren’t in training, they are on a bus traveling to play games against the other schools listed on their schedules. School sports is a time for our studentsContinue reading “Your Anger Will Embarrass Your Child(ren)”

January 22, 2018 Vi Waln January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.  Many tend to believe these crimes don’t apply to us because we live on isolated Indian reservations. The truth is our people are just as vulnerable to victimization as anyone else.   This past weekend there were countless women’s marches acrossContinue reading “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women #MMIW”

January 15, 2018 Vi Waln   Lakota people have survived generations of historical trauma. Some seek professional help to overcome destructive behavior. There are also many Lakota people healing their inner trauma through ceremony.   However, there are many others still self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. Other Lakota people engage in immature or inappropriate behaviorContinue reading “Our Children Deserve to be Exposed to Healthy Adults”

January 2, 2018 By Vi Waln The resilience of our ancestors is found in our youth. It was emotional to watch the video of Sophie Brings Plenty running on a snow packed road, carrying an eagle feather staff in the Wounded Knee Survivors Run. Indigenous young people were also a part of the Dakota 38+2Continue reading “Our Ancestors Live In Our Youth”

November 24, 2017 Vi Waln Today is Native American Heritage Day in the United States. It’s also one of the biggest shopping days in our modern commercial society. Customers are getting a jump start on Christmas shopping by cashing in on Black Friday sales. When you live on an Indian reservation marked by abject poverty,Continue reading “Black Friday, Trauma and PTSD”

November 19, 2017 By Vi Waln Statistics tell us that Native American women are sexually assaulted at a much higher rate than any other group. Assaults against Indigenous women are not limited to rape. There are countless women out there suffering from sexual harassment. In addition, too many Lakota women suffer from mental, emotional, physicalContinue reading “Pay Attention To The Red Flags”